


V I A J E

by camilascheryl



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: ArchieRonnie, F/M, Riverdale, Veronica Lodge - Freeform, archie andrews - Freeform, varchie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-10 18:53:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18413852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camilascheryl/pseuds/camilascheryl
Summary: While studying abroad in Spain, Veronica Lodge doesn’t expect to meet heartthrob Archie Andrews and neither of them can imagine the trip of a lifetime that will follow.





	1. ¡Bienvenidos a España!

NEW YORK CITY; 48 HOURS AGO

She paces quickly around the apartment, trying to think of what to say before the tears can come- once that happens she’ll seem weak. 

“Say something,” Nick finally urges, standing with his arms crossed, cheeks flushed red. 

“What do you want me to say, Nick? Because genuinely no words are coming to mind to describe what I just saw,” Veronica says. Her body is shaking and her vision is blurry because tear droplets are forming. 

“You don’t understand, babe-“ his look is so apologetic and manipulative and she wants to punch a wall or scream or do something to get this gut-wrenching anger out.

“What’s not to understand? Nick, you slept with my best friend,” she shakes her head, taking another step back from him in disgust. Yesterday he was her best friend and they were snuggling and drinking wine on the couch and she thought maybe she’d be okay with this forever and today she wants to throw up looking at his face. 

It doesn’t feel real, the way her life has taken such a turn in one split second. 

“We can work this out, please don’t leave,” Nick begs, crossing the room to reach out for her hand that she pulls away, repulsed by his touch. 

“I can never look at you the same again,” she decides, firmly. “And you know that. We both do.” 

“Don’t say that, don’t stand here and throw away everything we have going for us,” he pleads, digging a deeper hole. A part of her feels sad, because Nick looks so helpless.

“I didn’t throw it away.” 

A single tear rolls down her cheek.

“You did, Nick. Three years together,” she swallows a lump in her throat. “And for what? One night of drunk fun with Josie.” 

“It was stupid, V, we both did something really stupid,” Nick rests his face in his hands. 

“Yeah, you both did. But I think you hurt me more than she ever could. Because I was in love with you,” Her voice feels like it’s being forced out of her throat. “And now I know that was a mistake.” 

This isn’t something she can think about and change her mind. She can never love him the way she did, not after walking into that room and seeing him in bed with her best friend of ten years. In the matter of one moment she lost the two most important people in her life. 

“I love you, Veronica,” Nick shakes his head too, and she sees his eyes glistening. 

“Not enough. Because if you loved me, I would’ve been all that you needed,” She slips the ring off of her left hand, and unfinished promise. “And I love myself enough to not stay and let you destroy anything else.” 

“You can’t do this,” he yells, watching her throw her things in a suitcase. “You can’t leave me, I can’t live without you.”

“You’re going to have to learn.”

It’s the last thing she says in the next ten minutes of grabbing a few things and slamming the door on her way out so hard that the walls shake. And she hopes it’s the last thing she ever has to say to him. 

The man she was going to marry in six months, the person she was going to share a life with, a family with. One night later, and she sees him as a stranger. 

 

The air is a little cold as she walks along the pavement to her childhood home. It’s a familiar walk, and once she looks up at the letters written on the building a little relief finally hits her. In the lobby, the staff treats her like royalty and help her to get her bag to the penthouse level of the building, where Hermione is waiting with open arms. 

“Lo siento, mija,” Hermione whispers into her daughters hair, hugging her tightly. “I can’t imagine how you’re feeling.”

“I feel terrible. My heart actually physically hurts and it feels like I’ll never get the chance to be happy again,” Veronica sobs.

“Things like this take time,” Hermione combs through her hair. “You just need to keep your chin up. After all, you are a Lodge.” 

“I couldn’t stop looking at his face, Mom. For a while I thought that it’d be okay. I thought that I could forgive him, but every time I looked at him all I could see was that moment.” It’s forever engrained in her mind. 

“Maybe you should get some sleep,” Hermione suggests.

“I’m still going to Spain,” she blurts for no reason. 

“Well, sweetie, that’s hardly practical. Your flight is in two days and you’re not stable enough right now,” Hermione argues. 

“I can’t sit in this stupid city all summer and see everyone I know having fun,” Veronica bites her lower lip. “This was supposed to be the best summer of my life. I was supposed to study abroad, and Nick was going to  
come visit and we had a wedding to plan and years to do everything together and now it’s all gone Mom.”

The room is silent and the air feels heavy. 

“What if I never feel happy again?” She chokes on her own breath. 

 

RIVERDALE, VERMONT; 

He can hear his dad clambering up the stairs and he rolls his eyes, counting to three before the door swings open. 

“Hey bud,” Fred Andrews soft smile could light up the entire town. “Just wanted to check in on you.” 

“I guess you talked to Mom then,” Archie says, peeling his eyes away from the television. 

Fred nods his head. 

“Do you think going halfway across the world is going to be good for you after what happened?” his father asks, tenderly. 

“I got dumped, Dad, and I’ll get over it soon enough,” Archie sighs. They haven’t talked much about it and he doubts they’re going to. 

“But you and Betty were together for five years, and that’s a long time son,” Fred uses his typical father voice and Archie almost laughs. 

“Yeah, Dad, I know.” Obviously it hurt and it came as a surprise, he expected that the day they split up would never come. 

“Plus, the fact that she’s in love with your best friend,” Fred stares Archie in the eyes so he can’t avoid the subject. 

Yes, it was a slap in the face for Archie to see his ex-girlfriend and the person who was basically his brother together, and to hear that Betty had loved Jughead all along.

“This it too good of an opportunity to pass up, Dad,” Archie argues. “The scholarship- I would never be able to afford to study abroad otherwise.” 

 

“I know son,” Fred sighs. Archie notices the bluish tint to his face and the depth of his wrinkles. 

“I just want this opportunity to go somewhere I’ve never been, to see that there’s more outside of this town…” Archie adds, mind wandering. 

“Is this about you wanting to move?” 

“Dad,” Archie cuts him off.

His dad has never been fond of this subject, and he understands why- Archie’s mom abandoned them years ago and he knows his Dad is scared of being in this town alone. But Archie also knows there’s an entire world out there that he’s never seen. 

“I’ll help you pack, Arch.”

 

JFK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT; 

She’s been sitting in this hard plastic chair for twenty minutes now, ever since she cleared security. Part way through an episode of Queer Eye, she takes out her headphones to hear the announcement.

“We will now begin boarding families with young children and those needing special assistance, followed immediately by our first class passengers.” 

That’s her cue, shutting her laptop and lugging all of her things to have her boarding pass scanned before she steps on the plane and takes her seat. She looks out the window at the night sky in New York. 

Putting in her earphones, she finds a Netflix doc that should interest her for the next two hours until she’s able to fall asleep.

They’re not too far into the trip when she finally dozes off, and she sleeps for the next six or so hours. It leaves less time for her to think and regret her choices. 

Sure, her and Nick have had fights before, but nothing so final like this. She’s in uncharted territory- they’ve been an item since her sophomore year at Spence and she never planned on things actually ending. 

The pilot announces they’ll be landing shortly, following it up in Spanish and Veronica smiles. She is beyond excited to be embracing a tiny bit of her culture, even if her family isn’t from Spain. All throughout high school she took classes and learned new things about culture.

 

MADRID, ESPAÑA;  
It’s late morning in Madrid when she steps off of the airplane, and the sun is making her feel rejuvenated. She rolls her carry-on to baggage claim and picks up her luggage before heading to the train station. 

“Un boleto, por favor,” Veronica smiles widely at the man that hands her the ticket, and waits on the platform, looking around her. There’s something about it here, the sunshine, the crisp air, that draws her in. 

After a quick train ride she gets off at the stop near the apartment she’ll be staying in, and checks out the street below her, lugging her suitcase along the cobblestone roads. She’s got the rest of the day to settle in and she has a packed day tomorrow due to her own planning- visiting museums and an authentic tapas bar.

As she turns the corner, her body slams into someone else and she looks up to see a young man with flaming red hair looking lost and confused. 

“Lo siento,” he says, absolutely butchering the accent and looking straight down at a translator on his phone. “Uh… donde es…” 

“I speak English,” Veronica laughs. “Most people can here, but I’m from the United States.”

He sighs in relief. 

“Thank God, if I had to try to figure out how to say street in Spanish I may have lost my mind,” the boy laughs, and it takes over his whole face. “I’m trying to find an apartment on Calle Toledo.” 

Veronica giggles again and points above her head to her own apartment building. 

“Could it be this one?” She asks, to which he checks his phone and nods. “Are you here to study abroad?” 

“Yeah, are you?” Archie smiles at the coincidence, and just because he can’t help but flash a smile at the girl standing in front of him. “That’s cool. Well I guess I’ll be seeing more of you, then.”

“Veronica Lodge,” she reaches out her hand and shakes his. 

“Archie Andrews,” he smiles back, and she certainly won’t forget. “Let me help you with your luggage.”

She thought New York City was the widest place in the world, but she’s realizing she’s been missing so much.


	2. Museo Del Prado

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Archie gets a chance to admire the way Veronica loves this city, and it’s enchanting. He’s falling harder for her than he thought was possible in such a short time, but being in another country alone makes the circumstances different.

She wakes up with her face smushed into the pillow, feeling oddly disoriented. The jet lag still hasn’t worn off, even after her eleven hours of sleep last night. 

Yesterday turned out to be pretty uneventful, full of unpacking luggage and lazing around as she got settled into her new living space of sorts. After ordering takeout for dinner, she’d spent at least an hour zoning out and thinking of the dreamy redhead she’d met on the street below. She expected to run into her fair share of attractive men while abroad but definitely not physically run into them- let alone someone that good looking. 

She wants to do some shopping on the streets today and get an early start before the crowds, so she throws her hair up and gets out the door in record time- but there’s no way to shortcut her routine of coffee. Right beside her building is a cute coffee shop that she’s been dying to try, so she pops inside only to find the same cute redhead at a table with a notebook, sipping on his own cup of coffee. 

“Hello there,” Veronica smiles, stopping at his table. “Long time no see. What are you up to today?” 

“Right now I’m just scribbling some stuff down,” Archie sighs, scrunching his forehead up. “I’m trying to get some conversational Spanish down so that I can do some exploring.” 

“You know, I think I know someone who might be able to help,” Veronica smirks. 

After getting her coffee, she sits down with him and goes over some simple phrases, but it’s no use- he has the worst memory and his Spanish is hopeless. 

“Why don’t you just walk around with me today until you feel a little more confident. A lot of people here know English, but just to be safe,” she smiles at him gently- this is so unlike her. She would say she’s not one to flirt but she’s never really had the opportunity, since she’s been in a relationship most of her life.

“You would do that?” His smile lights up his whole face, she’s starting to notice, and she feels herself smiling a whole lot more when he does. 

“But I do have some light shopping to do, so you’ll have to tag along,” Veronica adds in. She could use the muscle to carry some of her bags. 

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” he mumbles. Like he was the type of person that had even a chance of saying no.

“What were you wanting to do? That way we can make some sort of list…” Veronica suggests, pointing to the notebook in his hand. 

“I don’t know, I mean I don’t know a lot about Spain. Have you ever been?” Archie asks her, picking at some sort of pastry in front of him. He seems a little distracted like his body is his here but his mind isn’t and she gets that feeling. 

These past couple days have been an out of body experience. She felt bound to Nick for the rest of her life and this feeling of freedom is intoxicating but it’s also confusing. Waking up in a bed alone and going to sleep the same way hasn’t been in her routine for years. 

“Nope,” she finally answers after a pregnant pause, but his head is in the clouds and he must not notice. 

“Me either.” Archie shrugs. 

“Well, before I spend my day with some random dude I just met, let’s get to know about each other,” Veronica suggests, and Archie finally puts down the pen and makes direct eye contact- his eyes are so golden and bright compared to any others she’s ever seen. 

“I’m 22, my dad owns a construction company that I help him with when I’m home from school. I live in a tiny apartment near my community college and my life seems to be turning out exactly the way I hoped it never would.” It’s hard for her to respond when his words are so disappointed but his demeanor is so bright. 

“Are you okay?” she blurts out. Veronica Lodge isn’t exactly known to have a filter, after all. 

“I’m not doing the best,” Archie admits with a laugh. 

“Do you feel like talking about it?” she asks, not meaning to push. 

“I got dumped,” he pinches the bridge of his nose. “The breakup was inevitable, but it still feels shitty.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Veronica says, the corners of her lips turning down slightly. She couldn’t imagine someone breaking his heart. “It doesn’t hurt any less, even if you’re expecting it.” 

“Yeah, not to mention that she was in love with my best friend,” he lets out a sigh. 

“At least she had the decency to break up with you, instead of cheating on you,” Veronica laughs lowly. The memory still has a bitter sting to it. “A week ago I found my ex in bed with my best friend.”

Archie grimaces, but he doesn’t give her the pitiful look that everyone else has, including Nick when she asked him how on earth he could do this to her. Her phone buzzes face down on the table and she picks it up to see another call from Nick, and she hits decline once again. 

“That sucks, I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Archie frowns.

“Well, at least I’m here,” Veronica ponders. “And I can make the most out of this trip starting with today.” 

“So what’s on the agenda?” he asks, drowning himself in his cup of coffee. His palms feel sort of clammy and he feels nervous like he did at his first middle school dance, no idea what to say to the beautiful girl in front of him. 

 

They seem to have such an immediate connection, walking along Calle Fuencarral like lifelong friends. Veronica gets quite a kick out of him trying to pronounce it properly. 

“Do you even know how to roll your r’s?” Veronica laughs uncontrollably. “I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you might be the whitest sounding person I know.” 

“You really don’t hold back,” Archie puts his hand over his chest, pretending to be offended by her words. They walk under beautiful buildings and the sun is shining and she’s so happy to be here. In fact, she wouldn’t be surprised if she randomly started twirling around the streets like a little girl. 

“You’re going to love the Prado,” Veronica smiles eagerly. “And we can go to the Palacio Real tomorrow.” 

He smiles back brightly, imagining all of the fun he could have in this city, all the fun he could have with her, this taste of sunshine that he stumbled upon. 

And suddenly his mind is a million miles from home, so far from anything near reality as he speeds up to follow the girl practically running in front of him. With the chance to travel with someone who has such a deep appreciation for the culture and the landmarks, he knows he’s going to get a lot out of this trip.

 

Not too long after getting into the museum, Veronica is already awestruck at all of the beauty around her- she’s like a kid in a candy shop. Archie follows her and just admired how immersed she is, listening and nodding as she explains all of the art. 

He doesn’t even like art, and yet he wants to stay here forever and just watch her face light up in that same smile forever. They step in front of a very large and popular painting and Veronica grips his hand and tugs his arm closer. 

“This is one of the most world renowned paintings,” she points up at it, like he could miss it. Las Meninas, it reads on a plaque 

“Who painted it?” Archie asks, trying to sound interested to keep her attention. 

“Diego Velázquez. He’s often considered to be the leader of Spain’s Golden Age of art, and I would agree,” she mumbles on and on about how Velázquez was the court painter for the King and painted this of his daughter Margarita. 

“You know a lot about art,” he chuckles, very impressed. 

“Yeah well, one of my majors is Art Studies,” Veronica explains. “And I grew up in high society New York, so it’s just always been a part of my life.”

“It’s always incredible to see someone so passionate about something,” he blushes a little bit. “It was really cool to learn some of this stuff from you.” Archie adds as they walk out to the steps of the museum. 

“Thank you. I’m just a nerd for paintings, but everyone’s got their thing,” Veronica smiles, leading the way down the long steps. She abruptly stops. “Let’s get a photo before we leave.” 

Kindly stopping a woman, she asks them to take their picture. Veronica’s tiny little body squeezes next to him and he squints at the sun while smiling at the camera. 

When he looks at it, he can’t help but smile again. She looks so tiny tucked into his side and they actually look pretty good for the typical tourist photo. 

His Instagram followers are gonna love this one. 

 

Their day takes them to little stores and a day of  
walking and getting to really know the city, and Veronica has never felt happier. She’s loving his company- he gives his honest opinion about some hats she tries on and even carries her bag of little things she’s bought, including a cheesy postcard to send to her Abuelita. 

They stop for dinner at a little hole in the wall place with great reviews on Yelp, and they sit at a table in the back with a window view. She giggles as he works on pronouncing some of the menu items.

“I think I’m just gonna get pasta,” he laughs, which she thinks is a safe bet for the both of them. 

They sip on some wine and it’s such a casual setting, she feels so comfortable for being with someone she’s just met. Her eyes linger on him for just a second too long as she takes a drink. 

“I’ve had a really amazing day with you, Veronica,” Archie says, and his face looks so sincere she’s ready to melt into a puddle on the floor. 

“You make great company, Archie,” she smiles back. “I’d love to do some more exploring tomorrow if you’re up for it.” 

“Definitely,” Archie says, and she swears she sees relief wash over his face. “Let me make sure you get home safe.” 

Like the true gentleman he is, he insisted on paying the bill at dinner, but she let him because she doesn’t mind a little chivalry every now and then. Plus- it wasn’t a date- at least not a real one. He walks her through the streets and now that it’s dark the city takes on a different kind of beauty. 

And the most beautiful is the girl standing beside him. He wants nothing more than to brush fingers, to feel her embrace and her presence close to him. This is has been one of the best days of his life, with someone he barely knows. But he wants to know her. 

Her building is close to his and he memorizes the location like a total creep. He just can’t help the way his heartbeat doubles around her.

When they stop at her doorway, she types her number in his cell phone. 

“Call me when you wake up,” Veronica instructs. “We can figure out a plan for the day. Thank you for such a fun day.” 

“See you then.” He curses himself for not saying something better, or cooler. 

She thinks for a second that he might kiss her, and if she’s being completely honest she wouldn’t mind that. There’s been this fine line since leaving New York of if she’s allowed to have feelings like this or if it’s too soon.

And the truth is, he really wants to kiss her. But he settles for a wave down the long hallway instead. 

He’ll have sweet dreams tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally Chapter 2!!! I plan on updating this more consistently, about once a week. I’m pretty new to this so I’m just getting comfortable with what I write. I still don’t feel the best about it but I absolutely loved all of the support and reviews last chapter so PLEASE keep it coming!

**Author's Note:**

> WOW!!! First chapter- done. I’m so happy to be releasing this. I’ve rewritten it maybe ten times and though I’m not the proudest of it, first chapters aren’t my favorite... so it’ll get better. Please please let me know what you think so I can work on what you want to see! Grateful for the read.


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